You might think the subject of marijuana should lead to a mellow conversation, but that’s not exactly how it went last week in the race for the Republican nomination for Sangamon County sheriff.

Retired Lt. WES BARR was critical of Undersheriff Jack Campbell, his opponent, for joking about “weed” on a radio show, calling it “unprofessional.” Campbell said it was a “poor attempt at humor” and something he should not have said. But he also thought it was “being kind of exploited a little bit for political purposes.”

This began Thursday, when Campbell was on KEITH KRAMER’s show on WMAY-AM. Kramer was discussing a story in the news involving possession of five pounds or more of marijuana. Campbell said when he was already on his way to the station, Kramer joked on air that he didn’t know what five pounds of the drug looked like, he figured the sheriff’s department had some confiscated drugs, and said that if Campbell was listening, maybe he could “bring it out here” so Kramer could see what it looks like.

Campbell said he purchased candy for Kramer’s son and Doritos for Kramer on the way, and it was during an hour-long appearance with “lighthearted conversation” included that Kramer talked of the snack.

“I can’t wait to bite into these Doritos you brought,” Kramer says on the brief recording that made its way to me.

“I just wish I could have brought you some weed,” Campbell says.

“Me, too,” says Kramer.

Barr said he didn’t hear the show, but got “lots of phone calls and emails on it,” and later heard the clip.

“I just think it’s unprofessional,” Barr said, to talk that way and even to bring Doritos — considered a food that eases pot-induced munchies.

Barr said it showed “poor judgment” and was “inappropriate” when Campbell is “the second-highest law enforcement officer of the county making a joke about drug use — saying I would have brought you some weed.”

“I think it’s disrespectful to members of the DIRT team, who are out there working hard every day trying to fight the illegal use and sale of drugs,” Barr added, speaking of the Drug Interdiction Response Team at the sheriff’s department.

I asked if this was nitpicking, and Barr didn’t think so.

“I think you lead by example, and the example you want to set is, ‘We take illegal drug use serious,’” Barr said. “I’m not going to be joking around about providing somebody with their food for the munchies or wish I could have (brought) him some illegal drugs. I just think it’s inappropriate.”

Page 2 of 3 - Campbell said he brought the Doritos “just to bring a snack for Kramer,” and he would hope he would be judged on the full show, and not just “one snippet” that is “out of context.”

Still, Campbell said, “I was wrong for saying it. It was just a poor attempt at humor, and I should not have said it.”

“I take law enforcement very seriously,” Campbell added. “We reinstituted the DIRT team, so obviously I believe in enforcing the drug laws. … Kramer and I were just going back and forth and bantering and having a good time. But I also understand that this is a very serious subject matter.”

While he agreed with Barr that it was wrong to make fun of this topic, Campbell also noted that the March 18 primary is approaching. And he said there was some nitpicking in Barr’s attempt to “discredit” him.

“He knows me personally,” Campbell said. “He knows that I have a sense of humor.”

Democrat JEFF REGAN is seeking his party’s nomination for sheriff via write-ins on March 18. Should he get adequate votes, he’ll take on the winner of the Barr-Campbell primary in the fall.

Helping family

Springfield lawyer DON TRACY, who happens to be the brother-in-law of JIL TRACY, the state representative and candidate for lieutenant governor from Quincy, says he sees an “amazing double standard” in campaign finance law.

That’s because Don Tracy, who backs the team of state Sen. KIRK DILLARD, R-Hinsdale, for governor, and Jil Tracy, recently found out he’s barred from donating directly to the Dillard-Tracy campaign because he crossed a threshold and now owns at least 7.5 percent of the Brown, Hay & Stephens law firm, where he is a partner.

Tracy said he thinks the fact that a partner is leaving the firm put him over that limit, but he said at that point, an anti-corruption law kicked in. Because of “relatively small contracts” that a couple of partners there have had with state agencies, he said, he is barred from making contributions to the gubernatorial ticket.

Thus, he formed his own independent expenditure fund. As first reported in Capital Fax, Tracy named that fund Illinoisans for Jil Tracy. But, Don Tracy told me Friday, he found he can’t have a candidate’s name included, so he’s now calling the fund Don Tracy Illinois Committee.

The State Board of Elections website showed that Tracy had placed $10,000 in that fund as of Friday.

The double standard?

“It’s amazing to me that because of the incidental benefit that I receive … from these contracts, which I have nothing to do with, I’m banned from making contributions,” he said. “But yet, private-sector unions can give millions of dollars to elect the people who negotiate their contracts and approve their contracts. That’s Illinois campaign finance reform — an amazing double standard.”

Page 3 of 3 - I pointed out to Tracy that a key boost in recent days to the Dillard-Tracy team was the endorsement by the Illinois Education Association, a teachers’ union. In the case of a governor’s race, at least, he said, teachers don’t have a “direct contract relationship” with the governor. And he’s right: Their contracts are negotiated with school boards, though the level of state funding and state mandates surely play a role in the livelihood of the teachers.

“If I were king, I would say that unions could not make contributions to public officials who negotiate or approve their compensation or collective bargaining agreements,” Don Tracy said.

He said that just like private businesses, unions with contracts of more than $50,000 with a governor’s agency shouldn’t be allowed to contribute to the governor’s race.

Tracy, who ran for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor in 2010, said he is the only contributor so far to the independent expenditure fund — which cannot coordinate its activities with the campaign.

He said he’s recorded some radio ads and purchased newspaper ads in central Illinois, for now.

“But I’m going to expand it,” he said. “This is just the start.”

I noted that his talk about union contributions was similar to comments that gubernatorial candidate BRUCE RAUNER has made.

Tracy said he thinks the Dillard-Tracy team is the best “to help bring Illinois back.” But he also said he expects Republicans to “coalesce around the winner” of the primary, whoever that might be.